Method and A Device to Attach Building Trims

ABSTRACT

This disclosure relates to building materials, in particular to attachment of insulating board and trims on building surfaces. Various embodiments of attachment clips to attach the trims on their place without nails or screws through the trim are provided. This disclosure provides an economical, fast, easy, and esthetic method to attach building trims.

PRIORITY

This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No.14/047,407, filed on Oct. 7, 2013, which claims priority from U.S.Provisional Applications Nos. 61/710,234 filed on Oct. 5, 2012 and61/788,847 filed Mar. 15, 2013, all of which are hereby incorporated byreference in their entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to building materials, in particular to attachmentof insulating board and trims on building surfaces.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to building materials in particular toattachment of insulating board and trims on building surfaces.

The selection of building siding materials today is vast. The siding maybe wood, vinyl, fiber cement, fiber glass or other materials. Essentialtoday is to have insulation underneath the siding to save in energycosts and to protect the building structures from weather elements.Customarily the insulation layer is attached to the building first andthe siding is attached on top of the insulation layer.

Once the siding elements are attached on top of the insulation boards,the siding still needs to be trimmed. The trims are usually narrowerboards and they are used to finalize the look. It is important that theinsulation extends under the trim boards also. Lack of insulation,especially around windows allows hot and cold air to leak and may causehigh energy costs.

The usual practice today is that after the insulation boards have beenattached to the building sides, the siding boards are attached to theinsulation boards and after this smaller board of insulation areattached around the windows, close to the roof, or at the house cornersand the look is finalized by attaching trim boards. This is usually doneby nailing the trim boards on their place. The trim boards are neededeven if no insulation boards are used.

There is a need for an easy and economic way to attach the trim boards,and this application provides such easy and economic way. Furthermore,there is a need for attaching trim boards without leaving the nail headsvisible on the board. Thus there is a need for an easy, fast, costeffective, and esthetic way to attach the trim boards.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of this invention to provide an easy, economic and anesthetic way to attach trim boards on the building.

It is another object of this invention to provide means to attach trimboards on the building without making through holes on the trim boards.

It is another object of this invention to provide a ready to usecombination of trim board and insulation layer to be attached on thebuilding side.

A further object of this invention is to provide clips for attachingtrims on buildings without making through holes on the trims.

Another object is to provide an adjustable clip for attaching trimboards on building.

It is an object of this invention to provide an adjustable trim clip forattaching a siding trim on a wall structure, said clip comprising; afirst part having a vertical side with a first end and a second end,said first end being attached to a flat bottom and said second end beingattached to a horizontal prong extending to same direction as the flatbottom; a second part having a vertical side with a first end and asecond end, said first end being attached to a flat bottom and saidsecond end being attached to a horizontal prong extending to same ordifferent direction as the flat bottom; and wherein the flat bottom ofthe second part slides on top or under the flat bottom of the firstpart, thereby forming a clip that has an adjustable width.

It is another object of this invention to provide a method to attach asiding trim on a wall, said method comprising the steps of: a) providingat least one trim clip having two vertical sides connected together witha substantially flat bottom having a width substantially similar to thewidth of the siding trim, b) attaching the trim clip on the wallstructure; c) inserting the siding trim into the clip between thevertical sides; and d) providing a pressure by the vertical sides to thetrim such that the trim stays securely between the sides.

It is yet another embodiment of this invention to provide a trim clipfor attaching a siding trim on a wall structure, said clip comprising;two vertical sides connected together with a substantially flat bottomhaving a width substantially similar to the width of the siding trim,wherein the bottom has attachment holes or a female/male attachmentassembly, and wherein the trim clip is attached to the wall structurewith fasteners through the attachment holes or with female/maleattachment means, and wherein the siding trim is inserted into the clipbetween the side walls and hold in place by a pressure provided by theside walls.

A further object of this invention is to provide a method to attach asiding trim on a wall, said method comprising the steps of providing aset of mounting clips having a wall mounting clip and a trim mountingclip, said clips forming a male/female attachment device; attaching saidwall mounting clip on the wall and said trim mounting clip on the trim;and attaching the siding trim to the wall by allowing the wall mountingclip and the trim mounting clip form a male/female attachment.

It another object of this invention to provide building trim kit,comprising a siding trim having a front side and a back side, said backside having one or more trim mounting clips attached; one or more wallmounting clips to be attached to a wall, and said trim mounting clipsand wall mounting clips forming a male/female attachment device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A is a horizontal cross section showing a wall and a trim and themounting clips.

FIG. 1 B is a horizontal cross section showing the trim attached to thewall with the mounting clips.

FIG. 2 is a horizontal cross section showing a wall, a trim that isattached to an insulation board and the mounting clips.

FIG. 3 is a horizontal cross section of a house corner, showing thewalls, the trims and the mounting clips.

FIG. 4 is a horizontal cross section showing a trim attached to the wallwith the mounting clips. The mounting clips form a male/femaleattachment device.

FIG. 5 is a horizontal cross section showing a wall, a trim attached toan insulation board attached to the wall with the male/female mountingclips.

FIG. 6 is a front view of a trim board and markings on the trim board toshow where the mounting clips locate.

FIG. 7A shows an end view of a trim attached on a wall or insulationwith a trim clip having rubber lining.

FIG. 7B shows a top view of a trim clip with attachment holes.

FIG. 7C shows a side view of a trim clip with a squeezing lever.

FIG. 8A shows a trim clip for attachment of a trim-insulationcombination, where the trim is attached on the insulation withmale-female attachments.

FIG. 8B shows a trim clip attached to insulation with male femaleattachment and a trim attached to the trim clip.

FIG. 9A shows an end view of an embodiment where the trim has attachmentgrooves and the trim clip have protrusions fitting into the grooves.

FIG. 9B shows the trim attached to the clip and the clip attached toinsulation.

FIG. 9C shows the trim attached to insulation and the trim-insulationcombination attached to the clip with the clip protrusions fitting intothe trim grooves.

FIGS. 10 A and B show an embodiment where the clip of FIGS. 9A-C isformed of two parts.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be describedwith reference to FIGS. 1-10 of the drawings. Identical elements in thevarious figures are identified with the same reference numerals.

FIG. 1A is a horizontal cross section showing a wall and a trim and themounting clips. The figure shows a wall 10, a trim board 20, wall mountclips 30 and trim mount clips 31.

FIG. 1 B is a horizontal cross section showing the trim attached to thewall with the mounting clips. The figure shows a wall 10, a trim board20, wall mount clips 30 and trim mount clips 31.

FIG. 2 is a horizontal cross section showing a wall, a trim that isattached to an insulation board and the mounting clips. The figure showsa wall 10, a trim 20, an insulation board 40, wall mount clips 30 andtrim mount clips 31. The insulation board 40 may be glued on the trim20.

FIG. 3 is a horizontal cross section of a house corner, showing thewalls, the trims and the mounting clips. The figure shows the walls 10,the trims 20, the wall mount clips 30 and the trim mount clips 31.

FIG. 4 is a horizontal cross section showing a trim attached to the wallwith the male/female mounting clips. The figure shows the wall 10, thetrim 20, the wall mount clip 30 and the trim mount clip 31.

FIG. 5 is a horizontal cross section showing a wall, a trim attached toan insulation board attached to the wall with the mounting clips. Thefigure shows a wall 10, a trim 20, an insulation board 40, a wall mountclip 30 and a trim mount clip 31.

FIG. 6 is a front view of a trim board 20 showing markings 22 indicatingwhere the mounting clips locate.

FIG. 7 A is an end view of another trim clip embodiment. The figureshows a substantially U-formed clip 50, having two vertical sides 52 anda horizontal bottom 54. The vertical sides have an inner rubber lining60. The figure shows the trim 20 inserted into the clip. The clip 50 isattached to the wall 10 from its bottom 54.

FIG. 7B shows a top view of the clip 50 of FIG. 7A. The figure shows thevertical sides 52, the rubber lining 60, the bottom part 54 andattachment holes 56 in the bottom 54.

FIG. 7C shows another embodiment of the clip 50. The figure shows thevertical sides 52, the horizontal bottom 54 and a squeezing lever 58.The clip is attached to a wall 10.

FIG. 8A shows another embodiment of the clip 50. The figure shows thevertical sides 52, the bottom 54, a trim 20, an insulation board 40 andmounting clips 30 and 31. The trim 20 is attached to the insulationboard with the mounting clips and the trim/insulation combination isinserted into the clip which is attached to the wall 10.

FIG. 8B shows another embodiment of the clip 50. The figure shows a trim20 inserted into the clip. The clip has vertical sides 52 and a bottom54. The figure shows an insulation board 40 attached to a wall 10 andthe clip attached to the insulation board with wall mounting clip 30 andtrim mounting clip 31.

FIG. 9 shows yet another embodiment of the clip 50. FIG. 9A-C show thetrim 20 with grooves 22 on both of its vertical sides 24. The figuresshow the clip 50 with vertical sides 52, bottom 54 and horizontal prong59. Attachments 70 are also shown

FIG. 9B shows the trim 20 inserted into the clip 50, the prongs 59snugly fitting in the grooves 22. The figures shows the clip attached toinsulation board 40 with attachments 70.

FIG. 9C shows the trim 20 attached to the insulation board 40 and thetrim/insulation board combination inserted into the clip 50. The clip isattached to the wall 10 with the attachments 70.

FIGS. 10A and B show another embodiment of the trim clip. The clip nowconsists of two parts. The first part has a bottom 54, a vertical side52 and a horizontal prong 59. The second part has a bottom 84, avertical side 82 and a horizontal prong 89. The bottom portion 84 of thesecond part slides on top of the bottom portion of the first part 54whereby the width of the clip is adjustable.

In FIG. 10A the horizontal prong 89 of the second part extends toopposite direction than the bottom part 84. In FIG. 10B the prong 89 andthe bottom part 84 extend to same direction.

In FIG. 10A the trim 20 is inserted into the clip and the clip isattached to an insulation foam 40. In FIG. 10B the trim 20 is attachedto foam 40 and the trim/foam combination is attached to a wall 10.

Referring now to FIGS. 1 A and B, one preferred embodiment of thisinvention provides a pair of mounting clips to attach a trim board to abuilding wall. The pair of clips consists of a wall mounting clip 30 anda trim mounting clip 31. The wall mounting clip 30 is attached to thewall 10 and the trim mounting clip 31 is attached to the trim 20. As isshown in FIG. 1B the wall mounting clip 30 forms a female partner andthe trim mounting clip 31 forms a male partner. However, one skilled inthe art would understand that the invention embraces also an embodimentwhere the wall mounting clip 30 is a male partner and the trim mountingclip 31 is a female partner. According to this embodiment, by pressingthe trim mounting clip 31 toward the wall mounting clip 30, themale/female design locks the clips together and holds the trim on thewall 10. It is understood by one skilled in the art, that the way howthe female and male partners attach to each other is not a limitingelement of this invention, but that any method resulting locking of thefemale and male partners together is within the scope of this invention.Accordingly, the clips may for example be hooks or hooks and loops thatlock together.

Referring now to FIG. 2, another embodiment of the invention is shown.According to this invention, an insulation board 40 is glued on back ofthe trim 20. The trim mounting clips 31 are attached to the insulationboard, and the wall mounting clips 30 are attached to the wall 10. Againby pressing the trim mounting clip 31 toward the wall mounting clip 30,the male/female design of the clops locks them together and holds thefoam and the trim on the wall.

Referring now to FIG. 3 it is shown how the trim is easily attached to acorner of the house. In the shown embodiment the trim 20 on the corneris formed by two separate trims, but it is also possible to provide onetrim that has a right angle, so that it fits to the corner. The mountingclips are attached close to the corner and further away from the corner.

FIG. 4 shows one embodiment of the male/female attachment device of thetrim mounting clip/wall mounting clip pair. As is shown in the figurethe trim mounting clip 31 snugly fits in the wall mounting clip 30. Oneskilled in the art would understand, that such male/female pairing canbe achieved by various designs. Only illustrative design is shown here.According to a preferred embodiment the dimensions of the mounting clipsis such that when the wall clip 30 is attached to the wall 10 and thetrim clip 31 to the trim 20 or insulation foam 40, and the trim wallclip 30 is attached to the wall trim clip 31, the distance between thewall and the inner side of the trim or the insulation board is less than¾″, more preferably less than ½″ and most preferably not more than ¼ ″.

According to one preferred embodiment, the female and male partners areattached to the trim board, insulation board, or the siding board byscrewing mechanism. According to another preferred embodiment the femaleand male partners are attached by pushing. According to yet anotherembodiment the attachment system may include tubular elements that areattached to the trim board, insulation board, or the siding board andthe female and male partners are attached to these tubular elements.

Referring now to FIG. 5, an embodiment is shown where an insulationboard 40 is glued on the inner side of the trim 20 and thetrim/insulation combination is attached on wall 10 with male/femalemounting clips 30, 31.

Referring now to FIG. 6, according to one preferred embodiment thelocation of the mounting clips may be indicated on the top surface ofthe trim 20. This would help attaching the trim to the wall with theclips that remain invisible on the back side of the trim. According to apreferred embodiment the attachment with the male/female attachmentdevice is meant to be a permanent attachment. However additional nailsor other means for attachment may also be applied.

FIG. 7A shows an end view of a trim or a trim with insulation attachedwith the trim clip. The figure shows the trim clip 50 having a bottom 54and two vertical sides 52. In other words, the clip is substantiallyU-formed. The inner surfaces of the clip sides are covered with rubberpads 60 or similar material. The trim 20 or the trim with insulationfoam is inserted in between the two vertical clip sides. The width ofthe trim clip (i.e. distance between the rubber pads) is such that thetrim snugly fits there and the rubber pads keep the trim secured inplace. When insulation is attached to the trim (shown in FIG. 8A) theclip is attached directly to the wall 10. When the trim does not includeinsulation, then the clip is installed on the insulation of the wallstructure. In this case the clip may have female/male attachmentassembly to attach it to the insulation board (FIG. 8B).

FIG. 7B shows a top view of a trim clip of this invention. The clip 50has two vertical sides 52 and a bottom side 54. The inner surfaces ofthe clip sides are covered with rubber pads 60 and the trim bottom hasone or more attachment holes 56 for penetrating a nail or screw toattach the clip on the wall. The trim or the trim with insulation isthen inserted in the clip between the rubber pads which securely holdthe trim in its place.

FIG. 7C shows another embodiment of the invention. Here the trim clip 50has two vertical sides 52 and bottom 54. A squeezing lever 58 isattached to one or both of the vertical sides 52 of the clip. The trim20 or the trim with insulation foam is inserted in the clip between thetwo vertical clip sides. When the lever is pushed down the trim sidewill bend inward and squeezes the trim inside the clip. The lever 58 maythen be attached to the wall by nailing or gluing whereby the squeezingpressure of the clip is maintained and the trim or trim with insulationremains securely in place.

According to one embodiment of this invention the clip is substantiallyof the same length as the trim to be attached. According to anotherembodiment the length of the clip may vary between about an inch to thefull length of the trim. When the trim is substantially shorter than thelength to the trim multiple clips may be used to attach the trim.

FIG. 8A shows a trim clip with a trim 20 that is attached to insulationfoam 40. The attachment may be done by wall clip/trim clip assembly30/31, but other methods may also be used, such as gluing. Theinsulation foam has either a male attachment or a female attachment andthe trim has the counterpart. Pushing the counterpart attachmenttogether will lock them together and the trim 20 will hold on theinsulation foam 40. The clip is attached directly to the wall and therim with insulation attached to it is inserted into the trim clip.

FIG. 8B shows a trim clip without insulation. In this case theinsulation board 40 is attached to the wall 10 and the insulation boardhas wall clip/trim clip assembly 30/31. The trim clip bottom 54 has thecounterpart. Now pushing the counterpart attachment together will lockthe parts and the clip will hold on the insulation board. The trim isthen inserted into the trim clip.

FIG. 9A shows another embodiment of this invention. The vertical sides52 of the clip 50 have short horizontal prong 59 at their upper end. Thetrim 20 in this case has been modified so that it has horizontal grooves22 in its vertical sides 24. The prongs 59 snugly fit into the grooves22, thereby locking the trim into its place. The clip is attached to thewall or to an insulation board with attachments 70. The attachments maybe screws or nails but they may as well be the male/female mountingclips described above.

FIG. 9B shows the clip attached to an insulation board 40. The trim isin its place secured by the prongs 59 which are fitted into the grooves22.

FIG. 9C shows an embodiment where the trim is attached to an insulation40 and the insulation/trim combination is inserted into the trim clip.The clip is attached to a wall 10 with attachments 70. The attachmentmay be screws or nails but they may also be male/female mounting clipsas described above. The trim may be glued onto the foam, but it may alsobe attached to the foam with male/female mounting clips as describedabove.

FIG. 10 shows still another embodiment. In this case the clip 50 is madeof two parts. The first part has a long bottom part 54, a vertical side52 and a short horizontal prong 59. The second part has a short bottompart 89, a vertical side 82 and a horizontal prong 89. The second partslides on top or under the first part so that the width of the clip isadjustable to trims with different widths. In one embodiment shown inFIG. 10A the prong 89 of the second part points to opposite directionthan the bottom part 84 and in another embodiment shown in FIG. 10B thebottom part 84 and the prong 89 point to same direction.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 10 the clip is attached to a insulationboard or directly to a wall with attachments that may be nails, screwsor male/female assembly shown above in this application. The clip mayhave several holes in the bottom parts 84 and 54 through which theattachments are attached, or the bottom parts may have elongated slotsthat coincide for attachments.

According to one preferred embodiment the vertical side 52/82 may be1/16″ to 1″, more preferably the prong is 2/16″ to ½″ and mostpreferably the prong is about 5/16″. One skilled in the art wouldunderstand that the vertical side can be of any length provided that itequals to the thickness of the trim (or trim plus insulation) or isshorter than the thickness. If the length is same as the thickness thenthe trim does not have the grooves but the horizontal prongs would inthat case be on the trim surface.

According to one preferred embodiment the short bottom part 84 isbetween 1″ and 3″ and most preferably about 1.5″. The long bottom part54 is preferably 5-10″ and most preferably about 7″. However, oneskilled in the art would understand that the length of the bottom partscan be adjusted to be anything and the most preferable measures are suchthat combination of the short and long bottom part would allowattachment of trims of any available widths.

According to one preferred embodiment the length of the horizontal prong59/89 of the clip and the depth of the groove 22 in the trim is between⅛″ and 1″, more preferably between ¼″ and ½″ and most preferably about⅜″. Again the skilled artisan would understand that the length of theprong and the depth of the groove can be any reasonable measure as longas the prong fits into the groove and holds the trim in its position.

One skilled in the art would understand that the slidable two part clipshown in FIGS. 10 A and B may also be used in connection with otherembodiments of this invention, such as the clip having rubber liners asshown in FIG. 7. Also it is possible to use the male/female attachmentsin connection with the slidable two part embodiment.

It is understood by one skilled in the art that the method and devicesdescribed in this disclosure would be applicable to trim boards of anymaterial, with or without the insulation layer and to trim boards of anysize.

The trim clips 50 of this invention may be made of any feasiblematerial, including but not limited to aluminum, plastic, fiber glass,

Although this invention has been described with a certain degree ofparticularity, it is to be understood that the present disclosure hasbeen made only by way of illustration and that numerous changes in thedetails of construction and arrangement of parts may be resorted towithout departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method to attach a siding trim on a wall, saidmethod comprising the steps of: a) providing a set of mounting clipshaving a wall mounting clip and a trim mounting clip, said clips forminga male/female attachment device; b) attaching said wall mounting clip onthe wall and said trim mounting clip on the trim; and c) attaching thesiding trim to the wall by allowing the wall mounting clip and the trimmounting clip to form a male/female attachment.
 2. The method of claim1, wherein said wall mounting clip is a female partner and said trimmounting clip is a male partner.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein aninsulation board is glued on a back side of the trim and the trimmounting clip is attached to the insulation board.
 4. The method ofclaim 3, wherein the trim is of fiber cement.
 5. The method of claim 1,wherein the trim has markings on its front side indicating the locationof the mounting clips.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the trim is acorner trim having a right angle fitting in the corner and wherein thetrim mounting clips are attached on both sides of the corner.
 7. Abuilding trim kit, comprising a siding trim having a front side and aback side, said back side having one or more trim mounting clipsattached; one or more wall mounting clips to be attached to a wall, andsaid trim mounting clips and wall mounting clips forming a male/femaleattachment device.
 8. The building trim kit of claim 7, wherein aninsulation board is attached on the back side of the siding trim and thetrim mounting clips are attached to the insulation board.
 9. Thebuilding trim kit of claim 8, wherein the front side of the trim hasmarkings to indicate the location of the mounting clips on the backside.